NECROPHILIC and NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS Approval Page
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Running head: NECROPHILIC AND NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS Approval Page: Florida Gulf Coast University Thesis APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Christina Molinari Approved: August 2005 Dr. David Thomas Committee Chair / Advisor Dr. Shawn Keller Committee Member The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. NECROPHILIC AND NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS 1 Necrophilic and Necrophagic Serial Killers: Understanding Their Motivations through Case Study Analysis Christina Molinari Florida Gulf Coast University NECROPHILIC AND NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS 2 Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 7 Serial Killing ............................................................................................................................... 7 Characteristics of sexual serial killers ..................................................................................... 8 Paraphilia ................................................................................................................................... 12 Cultural and Historical Perspectives ...................................................................................... 12 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 13 Development and etiology ..................................................................................................... 16 Prevalence and comorbidity .................................................................................................. 17 Sadism, torture, and mutilation.............................................................................................. 19 Necrophilia ................................................................................................................................ 22 Cannibalism and Necrophagia .................................................................................................. 30 Research Question and Methodology ........................................................................................... 34 Hypothesis ................................................................................................................................. 34 Null Hypothesis ......................................................................................................................... 34 Populations and Definitions ...................................................................................................... 35 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 36 Case study 1- Stephen Griffiths ............................................................................................. 38 Case study 2- Yoo Young-Chul............................................................................................. 40 Case study 3- Matej Curko .................................................................................................... 41 Case study 4- Alexander Spesivtsev ...................................................................................... 42 Case study 5- Gary Heidnik................................................................................................... 44 NECROPHILIC AND NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS 3 Case study 6- Armin Meiwes ................................................................................................ 46 Case study 7- Edmund Kemper ............................................................................................. 47 Case study 8- Joachim Kroll .................................................................................................. 50 Case study 9- Edward Gein ................................................................................................... 51 Case study 10- Andrei Chikatilo ........................................................................................... 53 Case study 11- Jeffrey Dahmer ............................................................................................. 55 Case study 12- Carroll Edward Cole ..................................................................................... 56 Case study 13- Issei Sagawa .................................................................................................. 58 Case study 14- Dennis Nilsen ................................................................................................ 59 Case study 15- Theodore Bundy ........................................................................................... 61 Case study 16- Andre Crawford ............................................................................................ 62 Case study 17- Jerome Brudos .............................................................................................. 64 Case study 18- Gerard Schaefer ............................................................................................ 66 Case study 19- “G.” ............................................................................................................... 68 Findings......................................................................................................................................... 71 Offender’s Background- Table 1 ............................................................................................... 71 Offender/Parent Relationship- Table 2 ..................................................................................... 73 Offender Crime Characteristics- Table 3 .................................................................................. 75 Offender’s Behavior with Victim(s)- Table 4 ........................................................................... 76 Motivations- Tables 5.1-5.3 ...................................................................................................... 79 Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 81 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 82 References ..................................................................................................................................... 89 NECROPHILIC AND NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS 4 Appendix ...................................................................................................................................... 96 NECROPHILIC AND NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS 5 Abstract Sexually motivated serial killers have been the focus of copious amounts of research, however, due to the idiosyncratic nature of their crimes, additional examination of the perverse sexual desires that provoke their offenses is warranted. Overall, research on necrophilia (engaging in any behavior with a corpse that is sexually or psychologically gratifying) and necrophagia (consuming the flesh of a deceased human for sexual or psychological gratification) is lacking. This presents an opportunity to further explore and better understand how these paraphilias fit into the motivational gamut of these serial offenders. This study examined 16 cases of sexual serial killers and three cases of nonserial offenders who engaged in these behaviors. The 19 offenders were divided into three groups: necrophagic (N = 6), necrophilic (N = 6), and comorbid (N = 7). It was hypothesized that through analysis of these case studies, it would be possible to determine if necrophagia presents as either a specific sexual motivation or throughout a spectrum of sexual motivations for necrophilic serial killers. The results indicated that offenders in each of the three groups often had more than one impetus for participating in necrophagia and/or necrophilia, however, power and control was the most common motivator for both eating their victim and engaging in sexual activity with their victim’s corpse. Keywords: Sexual serial killers, paraphilia, necrophilia, necrophagia NECROPHILIC AND NECROPHAGIC SERIAL KILLERS 6 Necrophilic and Necrophagic Serial Killers: Understanding Their Motivations through Case Study Analysis Serial murder is undoubtedly as captivating as it is diverse. It has been described as fascinating and terrifying (Hickey, 2006a) and has provoked both public and academic interest (James & Proulx, 2014; Maniglio, 2010). Although the current empirical data available has helped replace much of the anecdotal explanations of serial murder, the range of methods and motives involved in these crimes continues to pose a myriad of additional viable hypotheses. Among the offenders who commit serial homicides are those who are sexually motivated. Some researchers believe a majority of serial killers have some underlying sexual subtext connected to the psychopathology of their crimes (Hickey, 2006a; Ressler, Burgess, & Douglas, 1988). This assemblage of serial sexual murderers can be further subdivided into a group of offenders whose depraved fantasies and lust-filled realities include